Miles Field was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

park in the northwest United States, located in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the M ...

, It hosted high school, American Legion, and minor league teams from 1948 to 2004. The professional teams that played at this facility included the Medford Nuggets/Rogues of the Far West League in 1948–1951 and three

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

teams, the

Medford Giants The Medford Giants were a minor league baseball team based in Medford, Oregon. The Giants were members of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League from 1967-1968 and were an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. History In early 1967 it was an ...

in 1967 and 1968, the Rogue Valley/Medford Dodgers from 1969 to 1971, and the Medford/Southern Oregon A's – Southern Oregon Timberjacks franchise from 1979 through 1999.

History

In 1951, local auto dealer Claude "Shorty" Miles (1887–1968) worked behind the scenes to help get a new baseball park built in Medford because of his unbridled passion for the sport. A suspicious fire destroyed the structure in early July, but it was quickly rebuilt. Originally known as Jackson County Baseball Park, it was rededicated as "Miles Field" in June 1969, eight months after his death It was known as "Jackson & Perkins Gardens at Miles Field" during the mid to late 1990s, because of the ballpark's relationship with Bear Creek Corporation, now the Harry & David Corporation. At the south end of the city, Miles Field was a block north of Garfield Street, between Highway 99 and

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

. The

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of the natural grass playing field was approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

and aligned east-northeast (home plate to center field), the recommended

Demise of the stadium

After 21 seasons at the venue, the Timberjacks left Medford in October 1999 for

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and became the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

, leaving the city without a pro baseball franchise. The field continued with use by high school and American Legion teams, and despite efforts to both raise funds to remodel the stadium and to bring in a new team to play there. It was torn down in 2004 to make way for a controversial new Walmart Super Center that was delayed and eventually opened in 2012. In 2006,

Harry & David Field Harry & David Field is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Medford, Oregon. Adjacent to U.S. Cellular Community Park (now known as Lithia & Driveway Fields), it hosts youth and high school baseball, primarily the Amer ...

was constructed just down the street from the old Miles Field site. Under an agreement between the venue and the city of Medford, that field was built to accommodate youth, high school, and American Legion baseball, but ''not'' a professional team. The Miles Field site remained empty and unoccupied due to the legal battle over the site which involved the Medford City Council, Walmart, and the Medford Citizens for Responsible Development. In 2009, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals ruled to block the project temporarily on June 4 until a traffic study was prepared. The city council appealed that ruling soon after. However, despite the MCRD's best efforts to block construction, the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Nettleton Stadium Nettleton Stadium is a baseball stadium in Chico, California on the campus of California State University, Chico. It is the home field for the CSU Chico Baseball team, the Wildcats. It also served as the former home of the now-defunct Chico ...

Arcata Ball Park Arcata Ball Park is a collegiate baseball venue in the Western United States, located in Arcata, California. Opened in 1941, it is the home of the summer collegiate Humboldt Crabs. Arcata Ball Park is located at the corner of F Street and 9th Str ...

Kiger Stadium Kiger Stadium, formerly known as Gem Stadium, is a baseball stadium in the Altamont area of Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States. Construction began in late 1947 at the Crest Street site of Kiger Stadium, with a goal of opening in Spring 1948 fo ...

* Tiger Field *

Appeal-Democrat Park Bryant Field (formerly known as Appeal-Democrat Park, All Seasons RV Stadium, Colusa Casino Stadium and Hard Rock Park) is a stadium in Marysville, California, United States. It reverted back to its original name of Bryant Field in 2022.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Southern Oregon Timberjacks year-by-year records, statistics and rosters at The Baseball Cube

''Medford Mail Tribune'' (October 27, 1999) Sports in Medford, Oregon 1951 establishments in Oregon Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in Oregon 2004 disestablishments in Oregon Demolished sports venues in Oregon Sports venues completed in 1951 Sports venues demolished in 2004